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I notice it more in the British music press which makes slightly more sense but is still completely lazy and irritating. I do wonder if these people have heard any Kate Bush beyond the obvious hits and possibly Hounds of Love as well. It wouldn't bother me if there actually were similarities but there aren't, apart from "Easy," like you mentioned. I was reminded of Kate on that one but not anywhere else.

I don't know whether she's even mentioned Kate Bush as an influence? As far as women go I know she likes Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones but the Kate comparison is like lazy critics' supposed safe option as a reference point.

I actually think there are quite a few moments on Have One On Me that are very Kate Bush. Especially early Kate Bush, both vocally and melodically. I hear it in numerous places, but just for a bridge, for example, or a snippet of a song here and there. I actually think it's a semi-accurate comparison, moreso than most things that get compared to Kate Bush. Overall though, as a full album, I wouldn't say it's Kate Bush-esque. I also agree that there are very Joni Mitchell moments too, especially Good Intentions Paving Company.

There are a few moments where I do hear Kate vocally. A good example is the "Oooooooooo-ooooooo-oooooh" bit of Kingfisher, right before, "We came by..." But I only catch glimpses of it, and musically she really sounds nothing like Kate. If anything, it's some of the high vocals that are comparable for me.

I disagree totally, but regardless, what is the point of the comparison when talking about the merit of the music? There is none. To say she was ripping off a musician (and practically deny her an award based on that) who was in her heyday nearly (let's face it) 25 years ago is fucking absurd at this point.

I agree that it's ridiculous to imply she's ripping off Kate Bush. She's not, and really, the biggest thing I think the album has in common with anything Kate Bush has done is that (even with Kate Bush type moments) it's entirely different than any album I've ever heard (in the same way The Dreaming or Hounds of Love are). I assume the Kate Bush moments are unintentional, and either way, they're endearing. Joanna's still created something completely unique.

Easy the only one similar to Kate. Wth are you talking about? '81 is sooo similar to Army Dreamers. I'm not going to say rip-off since you're going to go all apeshit over it anyway. And whether she acknowledged Kate as an influence, no clue, but on her Facebook page she lists her as an influence. No clue if that page is even official though.

Listening to HOOM now, I actually don't think that Easy is the most Kate Bush sounding moment on the album. The hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo bit at the end of the title song really is quite reminiscent of Never For Ever.

Ooh - that Uncut Music Award thing must be a separate thing, because in Uncut's countdown of the best albums of the year (which I skimmed through today), Have One On Me is No.1! Yay for Joanna (and Uncut)

I'll try and pick it up later in the week and transcribe or take photos (I don't have a scanner unfortunately) but after the column about the album there's a couple of pages of interview where she's asked questions by various people including Devendra Banhart and Roy Harper.

Main points from the interview were:
- She was genuinely surprised and excited about Uncut giving it the title of No.1 album of the year
- Of her lack of website and Facebook/Twitter, she said that the artists she admired didn't have so much information "out there" and she didn't want to do that either; she said she prefers not to know what people are saying about her, and that if she did put energy into having a web presence it would take away some of her focus on her music, which she says she's quite slow at anyway
- She said that the whole nodules thing was "wildly misreported," mentioning Wikipedia, and that she never had surgery, just she had to stop singing for two months. She said that her voice was changing anyway between the first two albums, and that her singing on HOOM has a "less Appalachian" style but that was an "artistic choice rather than a medical one"
- Joanna HATES bananas